Nightcrawler: He Is Not One Of Us
by Rumbling Night Cutter
Summary: AU. Kurt used his image inducer to hide from the world. But what if he used it to hide from the X-Men too? His final days in his homeland left him scarred and scared of his own appearance. But he knew this lie couldn't last forever. But what he's not prepared for is a red-furred mutant to expose him to all. What comes next will show if he is truly one of them. Image not mine.
1. The Price Of Secrets

_Once there was a boy called Kurt Wagner. He was from Germany, grew up in a circus... And he was a mutant. He was born different then even most others of his species. There would be a terrible price for the way he looked though. But could he ever truly belong somewhere? Was he really one of them?_

**_BAMF!_**

The titanic sound of his iconic ability roared through the space he left, louder than it had ever been before. During the actual teleporting, Kurt was not in good condition. He was in pain, and 'porting far farther than he ever had before. He didn't know what he was thinking, but he had to. He had to get his charge out of danger, and there was only one place he could think of where his charge would be absolutely safe.

He held tightly to his passenger, not wanting to let go. Not for anything. He tumbled throgh the teleportation with more determination to get where he needed to be than ever before. Maybe this could make up for his lies. One last atonement for his sins.

* * *

**_Nightcrawler_**

**_Not One Of Us_**

**_1_**

**_The Cost Of Secrets_**

* * *

Quite some time ago, Kurt Wagner was on a train. He was covered from head to toe in a brown coat and pants that went past his feet, a hood pulled low over his face. His glowing eyes were hidden under the brown cloth, and he was glad.

He didn't want to repeat what had happened a month before. He bit his lip, trying not to think about it, but the memory tugged at the back of his brain, voices from the incident cutting across his thoughts. _"Sie sind nicht von uns! Sie werden nie einer von uns sein! Dämon!"_

He shook his head. That was over now. Professor Xavier had told him that things would be different here. That things wouldn't be like that. He had to put his trust in the man who had saved his life. He looked around at the passengers on the train, the thought of what they would do if they peeked under his hood...

_Ding!_ The train halted, and the passengers stood, Kurt along with them, grabbing his luggage from beside him. He tried to balance upright, rather than his usual slanted posture, so he would bring as little attention to himself as possible.

"That's him," he heard a familiar voice. He twisted his head to look at the source, a bald older man wearing a formal jacket, dark green shirt, and dress pants and seated on a wheelchair with X-shaped rims and a joystick on the left armrest. Behind him was a tall woman with dark skin and eyes, but a shocking amount of white hair. This didn't match up with her face, which identified her as late thirties at the very most.

Kurt trepidatiously approached him. "Good evening Mr. Wagner," Professor Charles Xavier greeted him in his deep baritone voice. Kurt nodded, his hood bobbing. "I'm glad you made it here safely. Did you run into any troubles?" His voice was full of genuine concern, and Kurt couldn't help but grin. It had been a while since someone had genuinely cared for him. "Nein," he said. "No troubles, just a bit of discomfort on the plane."

"That's good," he nodded. "Kurt, I'd like to introduce you to Ororo Monroe, or Storm as she likes to be called." Ms. Monroe held a hand out for Kurt to shake, and he hesitated slightly, before accepting it. She started in shock when she felt the fur of his hands, then looked at him, seeing his glowing yellow irises.

"Well aren't you interesting," she said in a bit of shock. She probably didn't mean anything by it, but the young blue mutant didn't know that. He withered inside. Already he was different, even with two other mutants in front of him. He put on a smile, though. "Everyone seems to think so," he said.

Professor Xavier was looking at him strangely. Kurt just knew the telepath was inside his head. He lifted the hood so his face was visible, trying to make his smile as genuinely happy as if could look while faking it. "So, where's this school of yours? I've heard good things. All from you, though, so that might not say much," he teased.

The paralyzed telepath led him to a long black car and got himself in. Kurt shuffled in beside him while Ororo was in the front seat, driving. As the car started up, the Professor looked at him, then raised two fingers to his right temple.

_'Is there anything you want to talk about, Kurt?' _Professor Xavier asked telepathically. He thought a more private conversation would encourage him to open up more.

The Fuzzy One jumped a little. He wasn't used to having a voice inside his head. Well, at least he knew there was a perfectly logical reason for it besides being insane. And that was a bald old man with paralysis and a school for mutants. See? Perfectly logical.

He shook his head and thought back. _'No, I'm just a little scared, that's all. Your students... They don't look like me. Have they ever even seen a physical mutation before? I mean, you, Miss Monroe and those other two, you look human... But as for me...' _he looked at his hands that were folded in his lap.

_'Kurt, I want you to know that my institute is a safe place for people like you. While your appearance certainly isn't common, Scott and Jean would never single you out like that. Your as normal as they are.' _

He looked at the professor skeptically. _'People say they're open minded... Then they see me.'_ He mourned silently. Professor Xavier frowned. The poor boy didn't feel safe at all.

And that was the last thing he wanted.

* * *

When they got to the institute, Kurt was immediately shown to his new accomidationis. A large room with a big, comfy looking bed, a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and a balcony looking down at the world below.

"Wow, Professor," he said. "Zis is... This is far too much for just me. I... I don't know what to say." His grin was genuine under his hood. Professor Xavier and Miss Monroe were behind him.

Kurt pulled down his hood, finally, letting the other two mutants see his face fully. His long indigo hair, bright golden eyes, and thin layer of fur shocked the weather controller, but not as much as the long scar over his right eye.

"This is why your here, Kurt," the Professor said. "So you can be safe and happy." As he spoke, the young mutant shrugged out of his large disguise, revealing a lean, catlike body that was slightly hunched over for valence. His legs were animalistic, with two long toes and hooked ankles. Attached to the small of his back was a long tail covered in blue fur like the rest of his body. It ended in a large, sharp arrow like shape.

Miss Monroe blinked in surprise, and Kurt smiled sheepishly. He bit his lip, his tail curling around his leg. "Um, hi," he said, waving, wiggling his fingers. Miss Monroe tilted her head, then tried for a smile. It wasn't too convincing. _What in the world happened to the poor boy? _She thought, trying not to stare at the line of parted fur that was his wounded skin.

Kurt tried not to flinch at her obviously fake smile. "It's a bit scary, I know. But I'm really just a harmless blue fuzzball, really." He held up his hands in a placating way and uncurled his tail, trying to make himself seem as relaxed and no threatening as possible. Of course he was no threat to the weather mutant, he just didn't want to get off on the wrong foot.

Miss Monroe smiled again, a genuine one this time. "Well, I'll just have to take your word for it." He sighed with relief internally. Now he just had to win the other seven million people on the planet over, and he'd be golden. He let his tail whip about a bit behind him, standing in awkward silence.

Finally Professor Xavier broke the silence by fishing something out of his pocket. "I have a surprise for you, Kurt," he smiled warmly, producing a watch it was a seterotypic so watch, a round face with several buttons around the rim. It was black, with a green screen displaying the time and date. It looked like something you could by at any convince store for a little over a buck.

The blue furred mutant took it and examined it. At a nod from the Professor, he strapped it onto his left wrist, unsure of what to do until the telepath reached out and pressed one of the buttons. The screen glowed greed and there was a buzzing noise. For a moment, nothing seemed to have happened.

Then, Kurt looked at the mirror on the dresser. He jumped in surprise, nearly believing he was dreaming because of what had looked back at him. He wasn't a scarred fuzz bucket anymore. Looking at him in the reflective glass was a Caucasian human kid, with blue eyes instead of gold, and no fangs appeared in his smile. His eyes went to his hands. Four individual fingers, instead of two thick ones.

"I-I'm normal!" He explaimed in utter joy.

He looked at the watch and pressed one of the buttons. The buzzing sounded again, and he looked at himself again. The return of the fuzzy demon-elf. He sighed internally. It probably didn't disguise he feel of his skin, so he would have to think of an excuse not to touch anyone... Then there was he fact that when he moved his hands, the hologram made it look like he was trying to do a Vulcan Salute.

"Kurt," Miss Monroe said, laying a hand on his shoulder, bending to look him in the eyes. "You don't need that device to be normal. For better or worse, you were born like this. But that doesn't mean you are any different than an ordinary person." She encouraged him. He smiled, taking comfort that he had gained at least one definite friend aside from Xavier.

But he looked at himself in the mirror again out of the corner of his eye. A fur-covered demonic creature looked back at him, as always. He wondered if other mutants had a hard time looking at their reflection because they weren't particularly fond of what was looking back. Because he sure did.

"Professor... I have a favor to ahsk." He said quietly. "Could you... Not tell the others what I look like. Just for a bit, until I.. Ya know, can put my trust in them." The adult mutants looked surprised by his request, and he bowed his head.

"Kurt, I assure you, Scott and Jean would never-"

"Please?" He asked. "I just want to know what it's like not to look different from ozzers," he said quietly. "Just for a little while..." The Professor swollowed. After what had happened in his final days in Germany, it was no wonder that he wanted to just feel like he looked like everyone around him.

Frowning, he nodded. "Of course, Kurt. If... If that is what you'd like. Just tell me when your ready for them to know. And try not to keep it for long. After all, secrets aren't for free. They have a price. And the longer you keep them, the higher it is. Try not to make the cost too much."

* * *

Katherine 'Kitty' Pryde.

Even Daniels.

Logan.

Rouge.

Jean.

Scott.

Hank Mccoy.

Rhane Sinclair, Ray Crisp, Tabitha Smith, Sam Guthrie, Amara Aquilla, Jamie Mardox, Jubilation Lee, Bobby Drake, Roberto De Costa. That was how many people didn't know his true appearance the following year. The price for his secret had become high. Way, way high. Over the course of events, he had learned to trust every last one of them with his life. He was Scott's honorary lieutenant in the field, Even's partner in wreaking prankster havoc. He, Kitty and Wolverine had been on so many missions together they might as well have been a subgroup of the X-Men.

And he still hadn't shown his true face.

At first it was because he was afraid how they'd treat him. Now it was out of guilt. After he didn't reveal his secret during the incident that changed Hank from a relatively cool high school science teacher into what looked like a Sasquatch that had jumped in a vat of blueberry colored dye, he thought he might tell them. But... It had been so long... Would they ever trust him again for keeping something like this for such a long time?

He was being a coward, and he knew it. He very much knew that the price of his secret was most like far, far more than he could pay. But... He had to. He knew that as he loaded himself onto the jet on their most recent mission, their unholy deal with the devil to conspire with the Brotherhood to find Magneto.

The Brotherhood weren't model citizens, but they weren't evil. Just... Out on the wrong path. And jerks. But far from actually evil. Their members, Toad, Pietro, Wanda, Blob and Lance, had all shown good qualities at some point.

And they were honest, at least. The brotherhood seemed to never keep secrets for very long. At least, not that Kurt knew of. He sat against the leather seats of the X-Jet, looking at his holographic ally disguised self.

_I'll tel them after the mission_, he decided._ I'll... I'll tell them everything_. He swallowed. "You all right?" He whipped his head up to find Kitty Pryde, or a Shadowcat, sitting next to him in her X-Man uniform. She put her hand on his, which was fine for him side both were gloved. She wouldn't feel his skin. "I know its a bit weird working with the Botherhood, but it's, like, not the first time."

He nodded. "Ja, I remember. Zough I certainly don't want the Juggernaut to make a repeat appearance." Kitty smiled as the plane lifted off. Kitty was one of Kurt's closest friends in the X-Men alongside Scott. But the moments was ruined for them by Toad's snickering, then saying, "No PDA on the plane, yo," while smirking at them.

Kurt scowled at his Brotherhood counterpart, but said nothing. There was a mission to be done. Stop whatever Magneto was doing, find Logan, keep mutant kind safe. Then he could reveal his secret to his friends, like he should have a long, long time ago.

* * *

In the X-Mansion grounds, someone watched the plane take off. He smirked with amusement, perched on the gate. He was in a typical gargoyle pose, but with a tail exactly like Nightcrawler's curling under him to where the arrowhead end was under his right knee. He was clad in a black suit with a red scarf in the pocket. He was covered in fur like Kurt, but his hands and feet were normal and his fur was red. His hair was slicked back and black as his clothes. A long scar, identical to Kurt's ran over his left eye.

"So, this is what he spends his days doing," he mused aloud. His voice was gravely, and inflected with a Russian accent. His time was considering, as if he was talking about meeting a four year old. "Cute. Infantile, but cute." He let his tail swing behind him a few times, before smirking again as he took a deep sniff of the grounds. "So, you again," he muttered. "Wonderful. It'll be one great big family reunion."

He looked at the X-Jet disappearing in the blue sky, and tilted his head. "I'll watch for a bit. See what my old comrades are doing before I borrow one of their pawns."

"Bamf?" A voice said in a questioning tone. He looked to see what looked like little chibi versions of himself, about eight of them, standing at various positions along the gate and in the trees. They didn't have clothes, but if there was anything indecent, it was well covered by course, blood-colored fur.

The mutant rolled his eyes. "No, you cannot raid the girls' rooms. I swear I got rid of your perversions when I turned you red. What does it take to get your minds out of the gutters?" The creature that had spoken shrugged sheepishly.

"It doesn't matter," the mutant shook his head, and took a look back at where the X-Jet had disappeared into the sky. "But the time of hiding is about to be over. For mutants... And for you, Kurt." With that, he disappeared in a cloud of red and black smoke, compleat with a bamf. The little look-alikes did the same.

It was almost exactly like Kurt's teleporting, but accompanied by a hellish screech.

**Hello, my name is the Rumbling Night Cutter. I have written for HTTYD before, but I had an idea for X men and this was the easiest continuity to fit it into. Sol how was it. And if your wondering about pairings, well, I'll keep it a surprise. **

**Also, this happens in the episode Day of Reckoning, when The X-Men and the Brotherhood team up against Magneto. Everything after that changes. Ok? Ok. ****But comic fans know who that was on the Institute's gate. ****To be clear, it's the version of him from First Class, but with fur. I loved his design on the movie. But anyway, I'll leave you for now. Don't forget to review!**


	2. The Unstoppable, the Demon, and the Mask

**[Fans of the Juggernaut beware this chapter]**

_"You're disgusting!"_

_The words stung in Kurt's ears as Scott spat them at him. He winced, putting his hands in front of his face. He was in the living room of the Institute, his true form exposed. He was paralyzed in fear, shaking, his tail quivering. "You lied to us! All this time and you didn't trust us!"_

_"You freak!" Kitty yelled, and he jumped back, landing on the sofa. "You're just a fuzzy rat!" The phasing mutant was looking like she might try and rip him limb from limb. He bit his lip, trying not to freak out._

_The other X-Men were surrounding him, ready to attack. Rhane morphed into a wolf; Ray's hands lit with electricity. Bobby turned into his ice form, and Jubilee's hands started to glow. Spikes grew on Evan's shoulders and arms._

_"Professor!" He yelled in desperation, but the telepath just stared at Kurt cooly. "I told you not to let the price of your secret get too high. There's nothing I can do for you. You brought this on yourself..."_

_The blue mutant closed his eyes in fear. When he opened them, he was sitting on a floor covered in straw. An obscure painting adorned the wooden wall behind him, and in front of him were iron bars. He drew in a sharp breath, and gasped in shock. "Nein! Nicht noch einmal!"_

_The X-Men were outside the cage, ready to destroy him. He closed his eyes. No, no, this wasn't possible, this wasn't right! He tried to teleport, but try as he might, he just couldn't. Scott's eyes glowed brightly behind his sunglasses as he lifted them up, and red eclipsed his vision-_

"NEIN!"

Kurt sat straight up in bed, breathing heavily. It was ok. It had all been a dream. He slowly breathed in and looked around.

He was in a bit of a small room, with metal walls all around him. There was a mirror, and a coatrack that was adorned with every stitch of clothing he still owned. He was lying on a small twin-size bed with a nightstand beside him, a clock and his image inducer resting on top of it. He breathed more easily. He was still in Professor Xavier's bunker, the secondary X-Men residence.

He sighed, rolling his shoulders. It had been a rough last few days.

The hunt for Magneto had gone bad. When they had arrived, they were ambushed by Magneto's servants, the acolytes: Colossus, Gambit, Pyro and Sabertooth. While the X-Men/Brotherhood alliance had held their own, it was a distraction so the Master of Magnetism could drop them into Bolivar Trask's secret operations, and his Sentinel. Then he'd taken the fight back up top, exposing mutants to the world.

On top of that, the Institute had been destroyed. Apparently the new rage-mode Professor X was, in actuality, Mystique masquerading as their teacher so that she could use them on her hunt for Magneto.

The Sentinels had captured multiple X-Men... And Blob. Following some on-the-lam living, some help from special agent Nick Fury, and a rescue mission for the captives, the Brotherhood had gone their own way, and the X-Man had resumed their search for Professor Xavier.

While Storm and Beast battled in the political field to keep mutants safe, Juggernaut had broken out of prison. The big guy had withstood all their attacks, and bashed them around like child's toys. It was quite embarrassing, Kurt thought as he rubbed his sore shoulder. Not even the full might of Scott's optic blasts could stop him. But they made it in the end... Somehow. And as a bonus, they'd found the Professor!

And that, in a nutshell, was how they ended up here, with Kurt... Not having revealed his secret. It had never seemed like the right time, and as the nightmare had demonstrated, it was eating him up inside.

He sighed and slipped on his image inducer. He looked at the mirror, watching as his blue fur turned of pale skin, indigo hair turning black. He couldn't decide if he hated this face or not. It was a face of lies, a face of mistrust...

But it was also a shield. He curled his toes inside the hologram, and twisted his tail to look at it. "It's OK," he wispered to himself. They are your friends." He whispered to himself. "And look at Herr McCoy. He's blue and fuzzy too, and they aren't repulsed by him... But then again, he hasn't been lying to them."

He swallowed, and got dressed for the day, hiding his tail inside his pant leg and making sure that none of the fuzzy him was visible. He wasn't ready... He would be, just not yet. He needed some more time before he felt he could do this.

* * *

**_Nightcrawler_**

**_He Is Not One Of Us_**

**_2_**

**_The Unstoppable, the Demon, and the Mask_**

* * *

The X-Men were at the breakfast table in Xavier's bunker. Jean and Kitty chatted amicably next to the Professor, while Wolverine moodily ate his own meal next to them. Storm was at the far end, minding the New Mutants, while Rouge ate in silence, as per the norm. Scott and the other official X-Men discussed matters among themselves.

But there was a noticeable absence from the table. A certain teleporter was not among them. A few were concerned. Kitty had been woken hours before by a scream that sounded like Kurt, but the Professor had assured her via telepathy that her friend was all right, that he just had a slight scare in his dreams, as he had the others who had heard him.

She was still concerned for him, though. Every so often in the conversation, she'd glance at Kurt's empty seat and bit her lip.

Professor Xavier knew about Kurt's nightmare, courtesy of his telepathic powers of course, but the younger mutant had long since asked him to stay out of his head. While the Professor didn't approve of what he was doing, it wasn't his secret to tell and he would help his student keep it.

A frown grew on his face as he sank into thought. Since he had been rescued from Cain Marko's cell, he had been sensing a mind that was almost familiar, yet he had never once encountered the individual.

He certainly hoped Kurt wasn't getting himself into trouble.

* * *

Kurt was enjoying himself immensely.

He grinned as he teleported from a flagpole to the opposing building. Having the mutant secret out did have its perks, he smirked. Being able to openly teleport to his destinations was one of them. He grinned widely as he landed on the sidewalk with a crouch.

Teleporting usually took his mind off his troubles. No matter how much his appearance was screwing him over mentally and emotionally, he loved his mutant powers. The teleporting... It just felt right. Nothing could stand in his way. Not walls, or doors, or locks, or _cages_. Not anymore. He could never be trapped again!

People looked up as he went on his merry way, but for once, he did not care. The people down there didn't matter. Besides, he didn't ear any angry shouts or screams of fright, just cries of surprise as he appeared and disappeared in a puff of sulfuric smoke close above them, so he guessed it was all right.

He teleported onto the side of a building. He had his image inducer on as well as his backpack. He was headed for school, but he had gotten an early start; and no one said he couldn't take the scenic route, did they?

He clung to the side of the building like Spiderman, looking down at the humans. It was times like this that he didn't feel bitter for how he was born. The little people down there would never know what it was like to be this free.

But deep down, he knew he was still trapped. And this time, it was a prison he himself had designed, tailored and manufactured.

He pushed his worries to the back of his head. It was hard, but a year of pasting a false smile on an equally false face helped immensely. His worries and issues still nagged in the back of his head, but he wasn't being eaten up by angst and guilt.

He grinned as he looked at the image inducer, which actually did tell time. Quite accurately. He had at least ten minutes to kill before school started, and Bayville High was in his general teleporting range at the moment. He grinned and climbed to the rim of the skyscraper.

He was high up. Very high up. So high the people looked like ants and the cars looked like... Well, they looked like really tiny cars, but not really small or big enough to compare to anything, but that's not the point. He sighed happily. The hologram didn't stop the feel of the morning breeze in him, or the warmth of the rising sun.

He pulled himself to the top, savoring the view for a moment. The detachment, the sense of untouchability. Then he grinned, holding his arms out to the sides and standing on his maximum hight._ Ladies and gentlemen,_ he manufactured the voice of his old ringleader in his head. _See ze amazing Nightcrawler about to preform ze jump of doom!_

He smirked at the cheesy name of his old act, and slowly let himself tip forwards, gravity pulling him forwards, until he had left the safety of the building entirely and had gone into a free fall down to the Earth. He smiled like a child doing something he shouldn't, and whooped in joy. The ground got closer, and closer, and closer, the wind ripping at his face and the pull of gravity tugging mercilessly on him. He kept falling, until he almost hit the ground, and then-

**_BAMF! _**He disappeared in a puff of smoke, rematerializing near a store and bouncing off the slanted roof. He somersaulted in the air, 'porting again to bounce off another flagpole.

He continued his conga-line of daredevil stunts for a bit longer, before he spotted something on one of the rooftops.

Someone was standing there. That wouldn't normally have bothered him, but the person was looking at his stunts calmly. That and Kurt just felt... Drawn there for some reason. Intrigued.

He teleported, reappearing in front of the figure. He landed on his hands, doing a few flips to decrease his momentum, then landed on his holographically-disguised feet, one hand in front of him to help stop himself.

He took a few deep breaths, exhausted from the stunts, before looking up. Regarding him with interest was a mutant covered in scarlet fur, with slicked back black hair on top of his head and glowing orange-yellow eyes. A scar ran over his left eye, much like the one that ran over the right of Kurt's true appearance.

He looked at the other mutant curiously, and slowly rose to his full height, just a few inches shorter than the man. He looked him up and down. He had normal hands with five fingers, but the nails were slightly long and sharp looking. A spaded tail exactly like the one Kurt had was currently hiding curled behind him.

Kurt looked around. There were little creatures perched at various points around them, on the air conditioning, the ledges, the other buildings. Despite being only the size of house cats, the sinister smiles and red-black fur made them quite threatening looking, not to mention they were putting off a sort of feel that made Kurt uneasy.

He swallowed, and regarded the mutant in front of him, trying to ignore the creatures around him as they circled like vultures. _Mein Gott, what have I gotten mein-self into?_, he thought.

"Guten Morgen," he said cheerily, putting on a smile. "As you could see, I was just goofing off a bit, and I saw you over here. I don't suppose you'd like to introduce yourself... And them," he glanced nervously at the little look-alikes.

To Kurt's surprise, the red mutant didn't do the full-on evil shtick and become a creepy demonic chess master. Instead, he smiled warmly, showing off small fangs similar to Kurt's. "_Zdravstvuyte_," he said in a voice that was, in spite of the strong Russian accent, warm and friendly. "My name is Azazel."

Before Kurt could say anything, Azazel continued, "I'll be seeing you soon, but there are some matters that I must take care of first." To the blue mutant's surprise, the Russian reached up and ruffled Kurt's hair, like a father showing affection. Then, there was a **_BAMF-SKREE_**, and he and the little guys were gone, leaving Kurt standing alone on the rooftop.

"Vat just happened?"

* * *

**_BAMF!_**

Kurt appeared on the sidewalk outside of school. He startled a few students into falling backwards, but no screams. They just backed away from him like he had the plague. He swallowed thickly, and rubbed the back of his head. If they were ostracizing him because he could teleport, how would they react if they saw him with a blue pelt and a devil tail?

He shoved his hands into his pockets and ducked his head, heading for the school. His tail squirmed inside his pant leg, trying to lash back and forth to show his discomfort and displeasure.

He bit his lip. After school, he would ask Professor Xavier of he had ever heard of the mutant he had found on the rooftops. He couldn't talk to his fellow X-Men about it, because then they would ask why he was so intrigued by a mutant with fur and a tail.

_And I have to act like nothing happened_, he thought. _Or Jean will start poking around up here... And that's a can of worms I don't want to open just yet._

He shook his head as he heard someone approach him from behind. "Hey, Kurt," Kitty said as he turned.

"Hi Keety," he nodded back, smiling. It wasn't fake. Kitty was one of his closest friends, being around her always made his inner turmoils just... Go away. She smiled back, lening against the lockers.

"Scott wanted me to ask why you weren't at breakfast today," she asked.

"Oh, eet was nozing," he rubbed the back of his head. "I was just out having some fun. I mean, if mutants are out in the open, why not have some innocent fun with our powers? And eet is not at all like it sounds, I was just doing some acrobatics."

His stomach grumbled, and he grimaced. He'd forgotten about his accelerated metabolism. He had eaten a late-night snack the night before, and already he felt like a castaway who had been stranded without food for weeks. _Oh, well,_ he thought. _I'll just have to wait for lunch._

"Like, sounds like you skipped a meal, huh?" She asked, smirking. He grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his hair.

"Well, I guess ze price of fun ees starvation," he said.

"It's ok, elf," she said. He couldn't help but smile at the nickname. While the hologram's ears weren't nearly as pointy as his real appearance's, they were still sharper than the average humans. Wolverine had dubbed him so upon first contact, and the nickname had spread like wildfire amount the Xavier Institute's inhabitants. "Scott picked you up a Burger Bomb. He's got your back, as always."

Kurt smiled. This was the life he has dreamed of for so long. Surrounded by an army-sized family that were as tightly knit as a pack of wolves. But why couldn't he bring himself to trust them to forgive his lies?

He shook his head and followed Kitty, trying to dispel the thoughts. He was partially successful. He went to class; they were learning about the finer details of Captain America's exploits in Word War Two in history, his science class had a video by Tony Stark... Pretty much a normal day for him.

But whenever he wasn't occupied, whenever he wasn't thinking, the eyes of the man with red fur would plaster themselves in his mind.

* * *

Cain Marko, AKA the Juggernaut, was not happy.

Not at all. He had just been beaten by kids. Sure, they were powerful mutants in their own right, Cain couldn't deny that, but he was the Juggernaut. He was raw power, and, by definition of his moniker, was utterly unstoppable. That shouldn't have been able to happen.

And to add insult to injury (blunt, fall damage injury, but it took A LOT of ibuprofen to get rid of the headache that southern girl had caused by tossing him off the dam without his helmet, so it was still injury), they hadn't been just any kids. They were Charles's kids. His worthless, paper-person brainiac of a brother's little students.

He couldn't very well let that stand, now could he?

He was stomping towards the Xavier Institute at the same time Kurt was arriving at school. He was still missing his iconic domed helmet, which he wasn't thrilled about, and the ice-brat had given him a long-lasting chill that wouldn't go away.

"Charles..." He growled. True, he had no plan or way to counter Xavier's mental attacks... But he would have to be able to reach Cain's mind before he got flattened underfoot. A lifetime of battling the strongest telepath in the world had given him a tiny bit of resistance, just enough time to break his half-brother's extremely fragile body. The only reason he didn't kill Charles before was because of those damn kids.

Suddenly there was a loud BAMF-SKREE, and puff of red and black-smoke as Azazel teleported in. There were little pops and names around him as Azazel's little companions made their own entrance in the trees and on various visual guage points on the ground. This time he had a dozen creatures now. Some were holding tiny swords. Others had armor on. They grinned sinisterly at Cain, golden-orange eyes glittering.

Cain regarded Azazel with something like disgust. "What are you, some kind of ratty plush toy?" He growled.

Azazel's only reaction was to smirk. In his hands he held a pair of long, curved, jagged grey swords, the blades facing his arms. "Very clever, Mr. Marko. But I'm afraid I cannot allow you to go forwards. Professor Xavier eez very close to my son, and you are preparing to lay waste to his home."

Cain chuckled. "So, is this the part where you and your merry men here intimidate me into running with my tail between my legs? Ha! Stand aside, or prepare to become road kill."

"Quite ze opposite, actually," he said. "Unfortunately, your story ends now."

Cain Marko's eyes narrowed, glaring at the red furred Russian. He clenched his fists, and dug his feet into the ground, preparing to charge. "You think you can take me? Don't you know who I am?"

"Santa," Azazal deadpanned, looking bored.

"I'M THE JUGGERNAUT, BI-"

**_BAMF-SKREE!_** He was cut off as Azazel teleported, and kicked him in the jaw. The red mutant might have been lean and non-bulky, but he certainly packed a punch. That being said, the Juggernaut himself was about as solid as a chunk of metal. His head jerked to the side from the blow, but he was otherwise unaffected.

He scowled, and seized Azazel by the tail, before bringing him up and slamming him into the ground. The red furred mutant bounced a few feet and landed with a groan in the dirt.

He got up, blood tricking out of a cut on his forehead. Cain laughed dryly. "See that, ya rat? Your gonna have to bring more than-ARG!" He was cut off as Azazel teleported again, and plunged one of his blades deep into Juggernaut's shoulder. He teleported again, landing in the tree above him crouching, swords held out to either side. The right one was dripping blood, and Azazel's face was plastered with a grin.

"How did you... I'm invincible!" Juggernaut growled from the ground. Azazel smacked his swords together, and they rang, the metal vibrating. "Amazing vat blades made of vibratium fresh out of Wakanda can do, eesn't it, _comrade_?"

In an instant, Azazel had gone from slightly creepy mutant with a small army, to something out of a horror film. He was a demon out of hell, teleporting and making deep cuts with his swords.

Juggernaught had no time to react as Azazel appeared under him, one of his vibranium swords tearing into his left calf. He howled, and swung his fist downwards, but the teleporter vanished and appeared in the air behind him, slicing into his back.

Juggernaught seized the furry mutant, but was stabbed in the hand for his troubles. He clutched the wound as Azazel teleported again. This time, though, he swing his unwounded fist into the Russian's gut, sending him flying backwards.

He tumbled head over tail, but landed with his feet against a tree. His kicked off of it, landing on his hands and doing a flip, before he disappeared into red and black smoke again. When he manifested himself next, he slashed his blades, cutting a large X into the Juggernaut's chest.

Azazel stopped, appearing in his original location. He was panting a bit, and his vibranium swords were quivering in his hands. Cain knelt on the ground, bleeding profusely. "Not... Dead... Yet..." He breathed. "Your gonna hafta...do better than that!"

He rushed forwards, each monstrous step thundering on the ground. He met with only red and black smoke, thought, and smashed into some trees, then encountered a ditch. He tripped and stumbled, splashing into the murky water of a stream. The water around him became red as he pulled himself up.

Azazel appeared in a tree, the eyes of his creatures watching from the shadows. "Zis vill be harder zen I thought," he mused. "I see your prestigious reputation does not lie. Though, it could do without the use of vulgar language."

He teleported again, and landed on Marko's shoulders. "I hope you know that this is nothing personal. I have no love for Xavier or the X-Men. But my son is among their ranks." Both mutants disappeared in a puff of black and red smoke, with Azazel's teleport noise resounding over the land.

Miles away, the sound of Cain Marko screaming could be heard as he was repeatedly dropped from above the clouds**[1]**.

* * *

Kurt knocked as he approached the Professor's study. It was hours after school, and most everyone else was asleep. Kurt was walking about in his natural form, tail free. This was the only time he felt comfortable doing so, when nobody was around to see him.

_'Come in, Kurt,' _the Professor's voice sounded in his head. After all this time, it still took a fair bit of self-convincing himself that he wasn't going bonkers whenever that happened.

He teleported to the other side of the door, and perched on the desk, curling his tail around himself.

"Um, guten abend, Professor." He greeted his teacher. Professor Xavier closed the book he had been reading and gently tossed it onto the desk. He laced his fingers together and looked at Kurt with a warm smile.

"Good evening, Mr. Wagner. I presume you have a reason to visit, rather than engaging in your nightly prowls?" Kurt nodded, biting his lip. His tail lashed behind him restlessly, and he hopped down onto the ground.

"Ja, Professor. I vas vondering if you happened to know of any mutants by the name of Azazel."Professor Xavier had been wheeling himself to the other side of his desk, but halted when he heard the name.

"E-excuse me," he said. "Could you repeat that?"

"Azazel. I saw a mutant today that went by that name. Professor, he looked like me!"

The telepathic mutant closed his eyes and laced his fingers together. "Not personally," he mumbled. "But I have encountered him in the past, many years ago. He's a Russian mutant with the power of teleportation, like you."

"But vy do I get ze feeling that's not the end of eet?"

"Because it's not. He's ruthless. In terms of physical violence, there is no such thing as boundaries for him. He'll do anything for his own purposes, or the purposes of whomever he's working for. I've seen his work; the carnage he leaves behind is horrifying, to say the least."

Kurt swallowed. If he had any positive feelings about meeting a mutant that was almost just like him, they were gone. Professor Xavier looked at him seriously. "Kurt, I implore you to stay well away from him. That man is a murderer that will readily kill _anyone, _without a second thought or remorse. And you know how hesiant I am to use that word."

Kurt swallowed. "Ja." Neither one of them were looking at the window. If they had, they would have seen a pair of orange-gold eyes watching them from the shadows, before they were gone in a quiet_ bamf_...

**[1] Ok, I know nothing about the Juggernaut's power set. I don't read the comics, so forgive me if the Juggernaut here was too weak. It was mostly to establish how dangerous Azazel is. So fans of Cain Marko, spare me. Besides, he probably isn't dead... Whatever, it's left open ended. Decide for yourself.**

**Flames will be redirected by Pyro, doused by Iceman, and those responsible will answer to Wolverine and X-23.**

**Anyway, that's chapter two, done and dusted. Please review, follow and fave, and have a glorious whatever-point-in-time-you-read-this.**

**-RNC**


	3. Demonization

Two weeks since Kurt swore he would reveal his secret… It was still a secret. As the famous meme once said 'one does not simply stop procrastinating,' and the fuz-covered mutant was no exception.

Professor Xavier had thought it might be a good idea to get away from Bayville for a bit, away from the Brotherhood, Kelly, Magneto, and all of that. So, the bald telepath had decreed that they take a field trip… To Washington DC.

The German mutant couldn't be more bored. American culture seemed so stuck up and proud of itself. He had nothing against them himself, but he did wish that it all didn't seem so… Overly patriotic. Seriously, they called their first superhero Captain America. And made him and his invincible shield look like an American flag.

He sighed as they turned a corner inside the Smithsonian, going past the first aircraft. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and they came back out with a pair of earphones. He stuffed them into his holographically disguised ears and pressed the play button. Dies Irae by Mozart began playing in his ears (what? He may be a party mutant, but he loves the classics!).

The tour guide began droning on and on and on. His tail swished inside his pant leg and he really wished he could be somewhere else. Suddenly Kitty nudged his shoulder. "Hey, Kurt," she said, prompting him to remove an earphone.

"Ja?"

"I just wanted to see how your doing. You seem to be, like, thinking a lot lately. You haven't been hurting yourself have you?" Kurt looked at her with a deadpan stare for that cliché tease.

"Just leave se jokes to mien self Keety." He whispered, but couldn't help a small smile for that. "And I've just had a vot to sink about. Vou know, avter se whole 'showing Mutants to se world' sing." He smiled at her.

He desperately hoped she would buy the lie. It was kind of contradictory, yes. He wanted to tell them, but didn't want them to find out. He wanted the reveal to be on his own terms, when he was ready.

Kitty studied him, and Kurt really hoped he had a really good holographic poker face. "Well, you know where to find someone to talk to if you, like, want to unload it all. You know that right?" She asked with a small smile, and Kurt nodded. He would really miss this when the truth came to light. How close he was to her, to all of the X-men. They trusted him undoubtedly. How would they ever trust a liar like him ever again. He swallowed, suddenly feeling a bit claustrophobic, despite the spacious halls.

"Um, professor," he called to Xavier, who was in the front of the group. Instead if turning, the old mutant just pressed two fingers to his temple. Kurt felt the odd buzz at the base of his brain that signified that Professor Xaiver was in there.

'_I, uh, I need some air. Is it ok with you if I just take a walk,'_ he asked.

'_Of course Kurt. Don't go to far.'_ The Professor's mental voice was riddled with sympathy. He knew exactly why Kurt needed to get away from the group. It wouldn't do for him to spill his guts about what he actually looked like in public. That would cause way more drama than necessary.

Kurt sent his thanks to the professor before quietly slipping out of the group. He checked to see of no one was around, his eyes scanning over the room. Aside from a security guard who looked pretty glassy-eyed, there was no one present to see this.

He teleported up to the roof, disappearing from the famed museum and materializing in the cool morning air. He sighed in happiness, sitting on the edge of the roof. He even considered turning off his image inducer.

He watched the pale orange-pink-red sky. It was barely past morning. You couldn't blame the professor for wanting to get a head start. They were some of the most easily recognizable mutants on the planet. He let Mozart's music play in his ears for a little bit, a small smile on his face.

What he wasn't prepared for was the sudden **BAMF-SKREE**, or the pinpric of a hypodermic needle into the back of his neck.

* * *

**_Nightcrawler:_**

**_He Is Not One Of Us_**

**_3_**

**_Demonization_**

* * *

"Zank you, Mr. Jason Stryker," Azazal muttered as Kurt froze under the influence of the fluid he was just injected with. Jason Stryker was a mutant with illusionary capabilities, but unfortunately the young man was born to a father who saw mutants as a race of devils. There was nothing Azazal could do for the poor boy himself, but he could use what he left behind. William Stryker and Bolivar Trask had barbarically harvested fluids from the mutant. Fluids that made the person injected with them very… Venerable to suggestion.

Azazal sighed, biting his lip. His tail swished behind him, seemingly tired. A few part he's of his fur had been dyed a darker red and was clumped. He let one of his vibranium blades fall to the ground. He smoothed back his hair, and looked at the parylized young mutant in front of him.

"I really am sorry about zis," he said, sounding genuinely apologetic. He tugged Kurt's music out of his ears. "Even though you won't remember zis, I'm vervy sorry. But…" He plopped himself down next to Kurt. "I need vou on my side. Vour loyalty to _Uchitel_ Xavier is touching… But it needs to go. I already sacrificed for it. And for vat's coming, I want vou wiz me. Vere vou vill be safest. But you vill be foolish. You'll vant to stay vith zes idealistic fools. So… You need to be forced out of the doomed heard." He stood, brushing off the pants of his suit. "Zis vill be very hard on you, my son."

He leaned in close to Kurt's ear and whispered the young mutant's instructions into his ear.

* * *

Kitty was a bit worried when she noticed Kurt had split off from the group. He had been acting really down lately. His pranks seemed halfhearted, he didn't BAMF into her and Rouges' room at unholy hours of the morning to wake them up with German greetings, he didn't exploit reasons to tease other X-Men.

"Even," she said as they stopped for lunch in the Smithsonian's food court. "Like, have you seen Kurt anywhere?"

He shook his head. "Na, I haven't seen the elf since that big paper airplane."he shrugged, but he looked worried too. She wasn't surprised. This was one of his closest and most valued friends missing in an unfamiliar environment. Even if he was a mutant, it wasn't exactly something anyone would be comfortable. He had confirmed her thoughts, though, and she bit her lip. She asked a few of the other X-men. They all said the same thing.

Kurt had been missing for at least an _hour_. She felt a bit of anxiety for some reason, like Kurt wasn't safe. He had been through a lot, but he couldn't handle everything on his own. His problem was that he thought he could.

"Come on, Kurt," she muttered, as she looked around. Even Professor Xavier was looking a bit worried

"Where are you…"

* * *

At a security checkpoint, a guard stood calmly. It was a pretty standard day for the guy, working at the White House. For such a grand place, it could be a pretty dull place to work. It was like being one of those Buckingham Palace Guards with the big fuzzy hats, except he got to stare as a white wall all day.

A few minuets after the tour group past, he felt someone looking at him. He turned to see a young man wearing a blue cap standing there. He didn't say anything, just… Stood there. It was kind of creepy.

Nevertheless the guard walked up. "Excuse me sir…" He said, a but off put at how little reaction the boy had. "Are… Are you lost?" There was no answer at first. He just kept looking at him from behind yellow-tinted sunglasses.

Then an ungodly hiss emanated from him. He nearly fainted in shock when a long, blue spaded tail curled from behind him. He was about to do something when the mutant leapt forwards, and landed with his feet planted firmly on the Guard's shoulders. His tail wrapped around the poor surprised man's gun and took it with him as the Guard was pushed to the ground violently.

He called into his radio as Kurt bounded forwards, whipping his tail to throw away the gun. He leaned forwards and started bounding on all fours. His image inducer fizzled out, leaving him in the appearance of a demon.

His pupils were shrunken, and he was barely aware of Secret Service Men calling out to each other. He teleported, swinging on a doorway upon entry to this dimension, using his acrobatics training to kick one of the agents in the face.

That wasn't right. He could hear cartilage crack in the poor man's face. He didn't normally hit that hard… Why now? What was so important that he do here again? He couldn't quite think straight, all he could hear was that young man and that little girl talking, telling him to go on, do what he was doing… They sounded so nice, like angels… How could he refuse them?

But still, he didn't like this. Not one bit. Something was very wrong. Why was he beating these men up? What was he doing at the White House? What had happened? Kurt struggled to mentally answer these questions as he kicked a particularly elderly agent through a window. He winced internally at that, but the young man and little girl's voices urged him on.

He continued his mental struggle as he flipped and punched, leaving a trail of bruises and broken bones. He bamfed again, this time re-appearing mid-flip to deliver a devastating blow with his foot to a Secret Service Man's chin, than another to the one beside him with his fist. Another teleport had him vaulting off a wall and knocking down a man through a door. That door promptly collapsed inwards into the next room, taking both mutant and Secret Service Man down with it.

He found himself in a room full of agents, all armed to the teeth with rounds and armaments galore. And none if them looked too weak and sickly either... The Incredible Nightcrawler quickly bailed into the other dimension for a bit. When next he appeared, he was on the wall. The agents turned to face the blue mutant and opened fire...

… Achieving nothing. He just teleported again, brutally beating down the men. He still struggled to answer why he was doing it. He knew he shouldn't do this. He was exposed, out in the open as the true Kurt Wagner, but doing things he would never normally do. But he felt so compelled to do it, as if it was what he had to do.

He finally made it to the Oval Office. He made quick work of the last line of defense, and, soon found himself flipping the last two Secret Service Men. Their heads hit the floor with a loud cracking sound. Kurt wanted to cry. He had just hurt so many people just now, yet it felt so natural. So easy to do this…

No, no what was he doing?! He had the president pinned under him, and… And he was reaching into his shoe with his tail, pulling out a long blade with a crimson ribbon attached to the hilt. He deposited it in his hand and raised it.

Something in the back of Kurt's head realized what he was about to do. A part of him started screaming for it to stop.

No… No this was wrong. This was very wrong. He had hurt so many people, what was he doing?! Why was he doing this?! No! No, this has to stop! But the voices of the young man and the little girl compelled him. He couldn't resist.

He took a deep breath, and a smile appeared on his face, like he was some sick freak on the inside to, about to enjoy this very, very much. _Oh, God,_ he prayed inside. _Please, please do not make me do this. I will atone for my sins, I will tell them my secrets, just please don't make me do this!_

**BANG! BANG! BANG!** Turns out one of the guards wasn't as unconscious as he thought. He was leaning on his elbows, handgun pointed at him as he fired. He let out a whine if pain, and agony ripped through his upper arm, and the sharp sensation gave him a moment of clarity. He used that moment to teleport, leaving the hated weapon behind and the scared politician under him to live. Blue-black smoke eclipsed his vision, taking him out of that nightmare.

This teleport seemed a little slower than usual. He could hear the sounds of the desolate, hellish dimension his talent took him though, the sounds of the evil creatures moving about. As you can imagine, this didn't make him feel any better about matters. Especially since his attention was focused on the gunshot wound in his arm.

When he reappeared, he was unaware of where he was or what he was doing. The gunshot wound was bleeding heavily, and he was aware of landing on something broad and soft… Very… Very… Soft.

The world went black around him as he drifted into a peaceful sleep, the memories of his horrible ordeal eroding away…

* * *

His arm hurt when he woke up. It hurt A LOT. His head hurt too, but not nearly as much. And his tail was aching a bit, too. Splinters in his hands… Basically, he was in a lot of pain. But he could still feel his forearm and hand, so at least he hadn't lost it… Then again he had heard that sometimes it takes the body a bit to catch up with the fact that there is in limb anymore, so he was really hoping that was not the case here.

"Urg… Aw man." He groaned. Things were very blurry. Very, very blurry.

What had happened. The last thing he remembered was teleporting to the roof of the Smithsonian. After that his memory was about as useful and solid as a soaked piece of paper. His head was pounding, like someone was repeatedly taking a malet to it.

His eyes blinked open, and he was greeted by the sight of Miss Monroe sitting next to him. He was in a bed in one of the hotel rooms Xavier had booked for their stay. His image inducer was off, and he was just wearing cargo shorts and an undershirt. His upper left arm was wrapped in bandages. The fur around the thick white material was clumpy and stained purple with blood.

Storm started as he woke up, but quickly smiled. "Good. Your awake," she said. She sounded eager, but Kurt'd old insecurity wouldn't leave him alone, analyzing her, thinking of ulterior motives for her kindly smile. She must hate babysitting a little freak like me, he thought. However he pushed it back down with force.

"Guten Morgen," he croaked, wincing as his throat stung.

"More like nacht." She said, pointing towards the window. Kurt followed her finger, and saw she was right. The sky outside the window was pitch black. Black like a gun, or a Secret Service Man suit… Why had he thought that.

He looked back to Miss Monroe, a questioning expression on his face. "We found you in here a few hours ago," she said, anticipating the query. "You were unconscious, and… well, you were bleeding from several gunshot wounds on your arm."

"Vat?!" Kurt's eyes widened, sleepiness fleeing on the wake of shock. He looked at the bandage on his arm in a slight panic, and Miss Monroe had to grab his hand to get his attention. "It's all right Kurt. They were only flesh wounds. Lucky for you, I have some experience with battle wounds.. Your going to be worse off for a while, but you'll live, and keep your limb. I'm more interested in how three billets ended up in your flesh in the first place."

He nodded, and was about to answer, when he realized that he too was stumped. His tail lashed behind him like an aggravated cat. "I… Don't know, Miss Monroe," he admitted. "I just… I can't remember anything."

He looked at her with a bit of fear. "Sat's not good, ees it?" He said quietly. Storm shook her head, a frown on her own face. She didn't mention the wound in the back of his neck, at the base. It looked like he had been stung by something. There was a puncture wound, the skin around it swollen and unhealthy looking.

She didn't like the prospects of this. First Kurt comes around with news of Azazal, then the White House is attacked and Kurt walked up wounded with amnesia. The dots were far too close not to connect…

"I'd talk to the Professor, Kurt," she advised. "Maybe he can help."

The young mutant nodded. "Ja," he said. With that, the African weather controller turned for the door. "Oh, and Kurt…" She paused. "I'd get ready if I were you. The others heard about your… Accident, and it took a great deal of effort and yelling on Logan's part, to keep them away. Unless, you want to…"

Kurt shook his head. "Nein. Not yet. One serious wound ees enough for se day." He got up and strapped on his inducer. With a buzz, the guise of a pale German adolescent replaced his true face.

As Miss Monroe exited the room, he touched the bandages on his arm. How in the dimension he traveled through had he ended up getting shot?

* * *

"In other news, the White House was attacked today by an unknown mutant," the news reporter on TV droned as Kurt descended into the Hotel's common area. Kitty and Even we're watching the news from the couch, while about half a dozen Jamie's snoozed around the room. As soon as his holographic shoe left the stairs, he found himself nearly flattened by Kitty.

"There you are, Elf!" She said, squeezing him. While the gesture in and of itself was not unwelcome, he prayed she would stop before she made contact with his face and noticed that his skin was too soft and uneven to be skin. She pulled away, frowning. "The Professor said you got shot, but he wouldn't say anything else.

"Yeah, man." Even looked up from his place on the couch. "You had us worried sick." Kurt smiled a bit to himself. It was nice to have someone care. "Ees nozing to worry about, _Katzchen_." He assured her. "Just an anti-mutant punk wiz a gun." He looked around them, then asked, "Where are se ozzers?"

"Out and about," Even answered. "Everyone was going mad just sitting around here, waiting for you to wake up. We would have stormed your room, but Logan threatened us with a few well-placed slashes if we did."

He nodded. Kitty was studying his face as if his protest earlier hadnt really reassured her. But before she could press the matter, he turned his attention to the TV. "So, se White House was attacked?" He asked, looking at the screen as an older SS agent with a bruised chin talked to the reporter.

"Yeah. Some kind of teleporter," she confirmed. "Like you. But you would never hurt that many people that badly. Half the agents on duty were sent to the hospital, and a few of them ended up in intensive care."

Kurt looked at the screen in shock. The SS agents may have been ordinary humans, but guarding a Capitol building and a national leader was not a job given to mere rent-a-cops. What kind of mutant could plow through them as badly as that?

"That thing was everywhere," the SS agent on screen said. "I tried to shoot it, but it would just… Explode, and then it was gone. Then it was back and beating the crap out of me and my buddy. It was like something out of the Devil's personal acrobatic circus."

There were many frowns all around at that. Even if it was scary, the attacker had been just a mutant. There was no need to make him seem like something that jumped out of a ghost story. The screen shifted to one of the only images that they had (apparently someone had stolen their security footage). One was one of the SS guys being kicked in the face by a figure partially eclipsed in smoke. They could see the outline of the attacker's body, and his bright yellow eyes were easily visible. The mutant's spaded tail was curled upwards behind him like a scorpion ready to strike.

Suddenly it was very hard to breath for the teleporter in the room.

"Wow. Never seen a mutant like that. He's kinda scary looking," Kitty commented, and Kurt withered inside. "Yeah, no kidding," Even agreed.

"Von't vou think you should be a leetle more respectful," Kurt suggested timidly. "I mean, he's a mutant. Like us."

"Kurt, he was trying to kill the president. He's a loony," Even said. "Besides, it's a little hard to act like a tail is normal, even among mutants." The conversation was tearing into Kurt's insides like a rabid animal. Whatever intention he had of telling them any time soon had just died a slow, agonizing death.

They wouldn't accept him. They would never except him. Why would they? They found Toad repulsive, and the only thing that looked inhuman about him was his tongue. Kurt had a pelt. He had a tail. He walked easily on all fours. He was an animal.

Kitty noticed that Kurt's face had gone slack. He didn't seem to be all right. With each second, his face grew more and more anxious. No, not anxious… Terrified. He looked terrified. The news switched to a video of the Avengers' latest exploits in Sokovia, something about a flying city.

"Elf?" She tilted her head. "Hey, elf, what's wrong?" She snapped her finger in front of his face, but it only served to startle the other mutant. He backed away from her a bit, biting his lip.

The other two mutants started to get seriously concerned, and began advancing on him. "Kurt," she said quietly as the teleporter's face grew more and more fearful. She out a hand on his shoulder and he flinched, before shaking his head.

"Um, sorry Even, _Katzchen_. Got lost in my head." He tried to chuckle.

"Kurt, you were like, having some kind of freak-out." She said, a bit concerned. "What's on your mind? Come on, I just want to help you."

Even nodded. "Same here, man."

Kurt was not doing well. He felt like they were closing in on him, like predators. He backed away from them a bit. They found his real from 'creepy'. Repulsive. Unnatural even for a mutant, and he couldn't ever let them know. The cage from his nightmares flashed behind his eyes, and he took a deep, shuddering breath. The back of his neck was tingling, and he reached up, rubbing it. His fingers trailed over a lump of swollen skin and flesh.

He swallowed, and his tail thrashed in his pant leg. This… Wasn't right. He was being way more paranoid and insecure than usual. Why was he feeling this way? Why was he so, so afraid right now? He couldn't stop thinking of the cage, and he could feel the cold and the sting of a blade on the right side of his face. The cries of angry Germans rang in his ears.

He groaned and clutched his head, and fell to his knees.

"Kurt!" She cried, rushing forwards, but he let out a snarl of anger. He arched his back like a cat as the horrible memories kept flooding in. Kitty flinched away from the inhuman sound Kurt was making. "S-stay away from me!" He growled, clutching his head.

He vanished in a puff of smoke and a BAMF, and he landed outside the hotel with a thump. The hard packed ground of the street was abrasive against his hands and face. His head was hurting so, so much. He began tearing at the image inducer, clawing at it with all his might as the fear coursed through his brain.

The façade faded away, revealing his blue and furry form. His tail came free of his pant leg, and he snarled. His brain was filled with fear, and he couldn't think. He reached back and needed at the swollen skin at the base of his neck.

Something was very wrong… He remembered something… The sinking of a needle into his flesh, the feeling of emptiness. He remembered the… White House. The knife…

He growled in pain as his brain spiked with pain again… Whatever had been out into him must be having a temporary side effect… Driving him mad… Insane… Out of his mind… He snarled, lashing his tail, and kneeled on the ground. The young man and the little girl were back in his head, and they were screaming at him.

So loud.

So authoritative.

So compelling. He looked around the corner at the cop on patrol. Specifically at the gun holstered in his belt. He just… Needed too…. He needed to… He needed to…

* * *

"So you think that Kurt was the one who attacked the President?" Charles asked. He rubbed his chin in thought. Across from him was Ororo as they sat at the small table in his hotel room. He rubbed his chin in thought.

"Nightcrawler has some of the most stubborn mental barriers of the X-Men. Any telepath able to penetrate his mind, let alone control it enough to do something so against his moral standards, would automatically show up on my radar."

Ororo bit her lip. "Well, I don't know I if it was a telepath. He looked like he had been injected with something. Like a drug. But much worse. Charles, it was like acid was stabbed into his skin. It probably hurt a lot just to go in."

"That's very troubling." He said. "And if he was given some sort of suggestive drug, then there could be some kind of after effect. Tell me, where is he right now. I'd like to keep an eye on him for a while..."

He was about to continue when a **_BAMF_**, and a sudden smell of sulfur filled the room. The two adult mutants looked over to the place of origin. There was Kurt, standing there with no hologram. His fur was matted, and his clothes looked ragged. His scar was painfully visible. But the worst was his eyes. The pupils were tiny, almost nonexistent, and they were wide open, and hollow.

"Kurt?" Charles asked, raising an eyebrow. Slowly, he lifted two fingers to his temple, and began to reach out to the young blue mutant's mind. He was shocked at what he found. He flinch chaos, a mess, a young man and a little girl's voices drowning out Kurt's true thoughts. They were so loud and chaotic, he couldn't make out a single thought. None of his efforts did anything but confide the senior mutant, making him flinch.

Ororo rushed it attend him. Meanwhile, Nightcrawler had started trembling. "Please…" he whispered.

"Please what?" Ororo asked, pushing up from her chair slightly.

"No…" he whispered, tears gathering in his eyes. Ororo got up, crossing the room to put her hands on the shaking mutant's shoulders. She looked like she was about to hug him, but stopped for a moment to look at his face. "What's wrong, Kurt?" She asked as softly and gently as she could.

**BANG!**

Both senior mutants' eyes widened as they heard the gunshot. Orono stumblee backwards, bleeding, and fell to the ground. Kurt raised the weapon again, and Charles put up his hands. "Whst are you doing?!" He said, raising his voice slightly. He tried to freeze Kurt, but whatever was effecting the younger mutant's mind kicked him out like an unwanted guest.

"I'm sorry," was the only response from the teleporter, before another round sent the Professor crashing to the ground off his chair.

Kurt stood there for a moment, shaking. He finally remembered what the person who had done this to him ordered him to do. Kill Professor X, Storm and any other authority figure present. In reverse orders though.

He stared at the limp form of his teachers in shock, eyes wide open in horror as the voices of the young man and the little girl faded. His eyes returned to normal just as the door creaked open. "Professor, are you all-" that was all Jean got out, before she saw Charles and Ororo on the ground. Then she looked and saw a glimpse of Kurt, his face hidden boy shadow. But his general shape and looks were not obscured. Before she could make telepathic contact, he was gone, teleporting to the very edge of his radius.

He landed in front of the Washington Memorial, nearly splashing down in the lake. He looked at the gun in his hand in horror, before casting it aside and taking a deep shuddering breath. "Mein Gott… Vat have I done…"

And in that hotel room, the most powerful telepath in the world and the African weather mutant laid on the carpet, their students scrambling around them as the carpet under them began to stain red…


	4. His Secrets Come Out

**I'm back! Here's more of Kurt with more angst than he actually has in the show! Enjoy! **

* * *

Kurt was panicking. He was curled into a little ball, tail wrapped tightly around himself. His pelt was standing on end, and the puncture wound on the base of his neck was stinging badly. He was shaking like a leaf as everything he had done that day flooded his mined.

"Mein Gott... Mein Gott...!" He muttered to himself. "Vat have I done?!" He looked at the gun in his hand, then flung it away as far as he could, trying to make distance between himself and the object. He had never felt such terror or self loathing.

How dare he let this happen. That man had given him a home and a family when the rest of the world would have willingly let him die on the streets like an unwanted animal, and Kurt had let his body be hijacked and used to hurt, if not kill the kindly telepath.

"Vat have I done?!" He howled quietly, clutching the spade of his tail. He bamfed from rooftop to rooftop in his panic, sending smoke from his teleports everywhere. He spent hours like this, crying on the rooftops.

He just couldn't believe what he'd done. He'd sinned so badly. He hurt the man he thought of as a father, he assaulted the White House, nearly committed murder, and might have actually succeeded in the case of two mutants very close to his heart.

Tears stained the fur under his eyes, and his tail was sore from being squeezed. He was breathing hard, in and out, trying to regain his composure. He just couldn't. He sobbed silently, like he had so many times before.

He shook himself back to his feet. He wasn't doing himself any favors. He growled silently and let his hand grip his tail, a method he often used to calm himself down. The pressure on a sensitive part of his unusual physique brought him back to himself.

I need to calm down... He thought, I need to get my head on straight. It hasn't been so good in the past few hours. It wasn't healthy. He swallowed, trying to dry his fur and gripping his tail so hard it hurt.

He raised his hand to the back of his neck, to the shriveled up puncture wound at the base of it, his finger feeling around it. That was kind of suspicious. But before he could think of it further, the full weight of the past few hours washed down on him, making him freak out all over again.

He was thrown back into panic as the memories of storming the White House, assaulting the policeman and taking his sidearm, and shooting the Professor and Ororo all replaced in his mind like a videotape.

Soon he wished he had never left Germany. He wished he was back there. And he felt he should be back there, he deserved to go back to that place.

Back in his cage.

Back where he belonged.

* * *

**_Nightcrawler:_**

**_He Is Not One Of Us_**

**_4_**

**_His Secrets Come Out_**

* * *

Kitty sat in the hallway of the hospital, shaking slightly. She couldn't believe this had happened. She just couldn't. She was praying for things to get better, but it just wasn't happening. She had tear tracks on her face, and she was biting her lip in worry.

Proffessor Xavier and Storm were in critical condition. Whomever had shot them had been accurate. They had hit caused a lot of damage with those shots that weren't instantly fatal, but still made the mutants nervous for their mentors' lives.

She shook slightly, looking around as the door opened.

Scott walked out. His ever-present ruby sunglasses made it difficult to read his thoughts, but he was frowning deeply. However, his face was creased into a frown, worry lines etched in his head. He took a deep breath and sighed.

"How are they?" Kitty asked getting up. She bit her lip, scared about what he was going to say.

"Not good," Scott said. "Their both powerful mutants, yeah. But they didn't evolve to be bulletproof. And whoever the shooter was, they hit so,e pretty important parts." He shoved his hands in his pockets and sighed. "Jeans doing her best to keep their kids active so they don't slip into comas, but there's only so much she can do. Any word from Kurt yet?"

Kitty shook her head. Nearly every X-Man had visited, Forge had flown in, even Magneto had floated by to see how they were. But Kurt had vanished since the previous night. Their resident teleporter had disappeared off the face of the Earth.

"No." She whispered. "Where do you think he is? Do you think he was attacked too? Oh, God maybe he's dead in a ditch or something!" She began to panic at the thought of her German friend as cold as a rock, motionless on the ground.

"Hey," Scott said forcefully, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Kitty. He's probably fine. He's just..."

She scowled at him. "Just what?"

"I don't know." He said tiredly, wiping his face with a hand. "He teleports, so he can't really get lost, he'd just pop back here. But the Professor and Storm are in critical condition. Kurt's tough, Kit. He can handle himself. If he was attacked, I'd be more worried about the other guys." He smiled encouragingly and patted her on the shoulder. "Just keep trying to call him. I'll keep you guys posted.

As he turned away, his smile faded, turning into a worried frown. _Two of us are down, and another is missing. Is this that rouge teleporter? What's he got against the X-Men?_ He wondered.

Meanwhile, Kitty's face hadn't changed from its worried frown. "Professor... Storm... Please stay alive," she whispered. She didn't know what she would do if the man and woman she came to view as a grandfather and favorite aunt perished. "And Kurt... Please come back..."

* * *

"Nein, nein nein nein!" Kurt growled, lashing his tail about. He was on top of the Washington Obelisk, perched like a gargoyle, without his Image Inducer. He had ben flicking it on and off for the past hour, looking at his reflection in the shiny marble of the monument as it changed from normal to demonic.

"I couldn't have done eet! I'm just imagining things!" He had gone from grief to denial half an hour earlier, and was now talking to himself, trying to convince the empty air of his innocence. Sadly, it looked like the empty air was winning the argument.

"I'm probavy just panicking, and mein mind is making stuff up. I just passed out and 'ported here, ja, sat's eet!" he said, smiling a bit. "I'll just pop into see hotel, and sey will be alright." He nodded, but doubt was still gnawing at his insides. He decided to wait a little longer.

"But eet wouldn't hurt to joost hang out 'ere for a vhile. I mean, se view ees quite nice." He commented as he looked out over the nighttime view of Washington D.C. It was quite nice, but it couldn't help the raging storm of guilt and worry inside the young furry mutant. He bit his lip, his sharp canines almost making himself bleed.

Hesitantly, he turned on his inducer, and tucked his tail inside his pants. Making sure it couldn't get out, he turned on his image inducer, transforming back into the normal-looking face everyone knew.

"Oke, eere I go!" He closed his eyes, praying he was going cookoo, that his mentors were all right. Without another second passing, he teleported back to the hotel, taking a lot of energy out of him. He had been using his power a lot today, and he would need a rest soon... And a few hundred burgers wouldn't hurt either.

When he sniffed, his heart plummeted. His nose had picked up the smell of blood from two floors away. He began shaking, tears pooling in his eyes.

He really had done it. They had been right, those villagers. He was a monster. A demon, a devil. How else could he explain how he had lost control. After all, he may only look like a beast from hell itself, but every so often... Kurt had the urge to play the part. And for whatever reason, today he had given in to those urges.

He began shaking, clenching his fists, trying to deny it. "No..." He whispered, trying nor to break down on the floor.

Suddenly the door opened. "Kurt?!"

He whirled around to see Kitty standing in the doorway. The teleporter sniffed cautiously, before his eyes widened. He hadn't teleported into his hotel room... He had teleported into hers.

Awkward.

But before he could verbally defend himself, he found himself trapped in a hug by the other mutant. "Where have you been?!" She snapped, but didn't release him. He considered teleporting, as he was starting to run low on oxygen, but he would probably take her with him.

"I've been... Air, Keety, air! Please..." He gasped as she lessened her grip. "Taking a valk." He lied. The part that disgusted him was how easy it was. Almost like a reflex. He was a liar by nature, and a good one too. He didn't sound nervous or panicked, because all his emotions were tied down tightly under the surface.

She was still holding onto him, and he was getting a little worried that she would come into contact with his fur. He swallowed, beginning to fidget a little.

"Um... _Katzchen_, vhat's vith all se sudden affection?" He asked timidly. She jumped back a little with a red face, biting her lip.

"Sorry. I was just worried. We've been trying to contact you, and you haven't been answering. Like, why didn't you answer?! We've been calling for hours! I thought something had had happened, I mean, your still recovering from a bullet wound!" He winced at the reminder of the hole on his arm, but recovered.

"I'm sorry, _Katzchen_," he said apologetically, putting his hand on her arm. "I got.. Scared, I just had to clear my head for a bit." He noticed her eyes were misty, and she was gritting her teeth.

"Keety?" He asked, leaning down to look her in the eye. "Keety, vhat's vrong?"

"Prof-Professor Xavier... And Storm... They were attacked... Just like you were!" She said. "But their in the hospital. Their in critical condition, and Jean's doing her best to keep them out of coma's and-"

"Slow down, Keety," Kurt said calmingly. Inside, he was filled with disgust and guilt. The female mutant was on the verge of breaking down into tears. He couldn't stand that sight, and it was only worse with the knowledge that he was the cause. No one else but him. He had gone and gotten himself wounded, making her paranoid, he had put their meters into their current state, making her hysterical. Yet here he was, acting calm and comforting, trying to make her calm down.

The teleporter had never hated himself so much in his life. He bit his lip, his tail lashing inside his pant leg. "It vill be ok," he told her, petting her shoulder soothingly. "Ve are se X-Men. Ve are survivors. Ad vho's more hardy than those two, eh? Sis is hardly se first time sey have been badly hurt."

She looked down, shaking a bit. "But what if it's the last?' She asked quietly.

_Then I won't be able to live with myself,_ Kurt thought, but outside he said, "Sen we show who did it vhat happens when sey hurt sose close to us."

She took a deep breath and nodded, before smiling at the German in front of her. "Your right Kurt. I'm losing my head when I should be fighting to keep it on straight. Thanks." She patted his shoulder, before striding forwards and phasing through him like a ghost. Normally he would have complained about the extreme invasion of personal space, but he didn't feel like talking a lot at the moment.

She collapsed onto her bed and sighed, looking at the ceiling. "Hey, Kurt?" She said.

"Ja?"

"Your always there for me, right? I can count on you?" She asked, sounding exhausted. He wasn't surprised. It had been a bad day for the both of them, and he couldn't bring himself to be bitter that hers was still better than his.

"Ja, _Katzchen_. Alvays." He said, before turning to leave, feeling sick to his stomach. She trusted him. She trusted him, and he was lying to her face. Now no longer just about his appearance. No, that would have just put a temporary rift between him and his comrades. His new secret... It could destroy his bonds with them.

If it got out, Kurt might not be one of them, one of the X-Men, anymore.

* * *

Wolverine wasn't happy. Well, he rarely was, but he was past 'Standard Pissed Off Logan' at the moment. He was at 'Standard Pissed Off Wolverine,' his face turned down in an ugly scowl as he walked to the room where two of his closest friends had been shot.

The man had lived centuries, and even though he didn't remember a lot of it, from what he did remember, he knew that he hadn't had much friends in that time. Hookups, passing acquaintances, and one pain-in-the-ass blond guy following him around trying to kill him, sure, but not friends.

Chuck and Ororo were his friends. And they had been shot. So naturally he wasn't happy.

He arrived at the scene of the crime, and pushed the door open. Imedietley his enhanced senses could pick up a lot of smells in the room, predominately Chuck and Ororo. But there was also the scents from multiple kids who had visited that day, like Bobby, Jean, the half-pint, the elf...

Wolverine sniffed again. The elf's scent was a bit stronger than the other kids. Actually, the scent was almost as fresh as the blood on the floor. He scowled, thinking about the implications.

He didn't believe it at first. The elf was one of the nicest people Wolverine had ever met. Though he was real religious at times, he never treated anyone differently as long as they were good people. He was good friends with Summers and Daniels, and he was pretty sure he and the Half-pint had something going on. He looked up to Chuck like a grandad, and Ororo like an aunt.

But putting the personal stuff aside, a teleporter with hostile intent was in the area. Teleporters were extremely rare, an almost extinct mutant subspecies. He only knew of a few others, and the bastard Azazel was reported to be in New York... But they were in DC now, and the red-furred mutant's scent wasn't on anything... But Kurt was a teleporter... And his scent was so fresh.

Wolverine shook his head. _There's no way Elf could do it_, Wolverine thought. _He nearly throws up at the sight of guns, he doesn't even like killing flies_.

He growled again, though, and his claws reflexively shot out of his hands. He didn't want to think about the elf being a traitor. He was a good kid... Wolverine desperately wanted to believe that.

He knew the teleporter had secrets. He never let anyone touch his skin, his scent was odd, and he was always nervous. Wolverine thought he had anxiety issues or something, but now... He had to wonder.

"I hope it ain't you, Elf," he thought. "But if it is... Your goin' down."

* * *

Kurt had to think a bit more to think about as he fingered the puncture wounds on his neck. He was on the roof of the hotel, in his natural appearance. His tail swing behind him, the tip lightly brushing the ground behind him.

He just couldn't get the images out of his head. He was sure that many of the men he had assaulted were permanently injured. Getting blows to the head and chest with someone who pushed every muscle in his body daily, and already had enhanced strength to begin with did that.

He sighed, biting his lip. His small fangs nearly drew blood, and he refrained from that. He winced as the gunshot wound in his arm ached, making his tail spasm a little.

Suddenly he spotted something on his arm. He was actually surprised he hadn't noticed it earlier. Caught in a few tangled strands of his pelt were a few hairs of red fur. And it was a familiar shade, so right and solid that it couldn't possibly be a human's natural hair color. He took the strands in his fingers and sniffed it.

When the scent reached his nostrils, only one face came to mind. The one that had met him on a roof back home, with a few small creepy things surrounding him.

Azazal.

He frowned, then snarled, his tail curling dangerously. The fur had been shed from the other teleporter's pelt fairly recently, if he still had some in his fur.

Not even the Professor knew if Azazal had any additional abilities. He could have some way of manipulating him into doing what he had done. If so... This wasn't Kurt's fault. It was Azazal's.

Wait... The museum. The Smythsonian's roof. He had gone out to clear his head, and things had gone fuzzy. He screwed his eyes in concentration, trying to remember what had happened, digging into his memories.

He remembered the sound of a teleport and a hellish screech. He remembered pain in his neck... And he remembered Azazal's face. The memories past that were too hard to remember, but that was all Kurt needed.

With a determined look on his face, he stood, resuming the appearance of a normal person. He was growling, though. The red-furred mutant had made him betray the people, he owed loyalty to, caused him pain and grief. Kurt wasn't am angry person, but making him harm innocent people made him really want play the part of his demon-like appearance where the one responsible was concerned.

When he turned, though, he was caught off guard by a burst of red-black smoke and a resounding **_BAMF-SKREE_**. Azazal was standing in front of him, his suit neat as the last time he had appeared to the young mutant. He smelled faintly of blood, though, and part of his fur was disheveled and matted.

They looked at each other in shock for a moment. The younger party had not expected to see the mutant, while the red one had clearly anticipated taking Kurt by surprise.

They just looked at each other for a few seconds, trying to evaluate the situation. Kurt was the first to break the silence. An ugly snarl spread over his face. He snarled. "Vou... Vou did sis!" He yelled, stalking forwards.

He spotted a syringe in the red mutant's hands, and Kurt grew even more furious. "Vou, very going to do sit again?!" He yelled, reaching him. Azazal's eyes widened, and he began to raise the object, but Kurt knocked down his hand.

"I've hardly even met vou!" He yelled, grabbing the other mutant by the tie. "Vhy are vou doing sis to me?!" He yelled, his eyes burning with anger. He wanted to strangle the man in front of him, hurt him, kill-

_NO!_ Kurt thought. He wasn't a killer. He wouldn't take a life, ever, no matter how much evil they did. He was thankful his efforts under Azazal's contort had failed, but he wasn't going to waste the chance to keep his soul clean by killing the one responsible for their close calls.

Azazal smirked as he surveyed the boy's face. "Having to zink it over, do zou?" He asked softly. "I should have zought about my instincts getting muddled over ze generations. Vou do not possess my will to keell, the sense of retribution I valzue."

He grabbed Kurt's arm and pulled it away from his tie. "But zat villl soon change."

Kurt growled. "I vill never kill! Never!" He shouted at the red furred man. His voice was filled with anger, but something else... A little bit of fear. "I'm not like vou!" He denied. "Vou leave carnage behind vherever vou go! Mein Professor, he told me! He's seen vour work!"

"And how ees zhat different from what vou did today? If you had been armed, then the White House vould look like I had been zere!" Azazal countered, his own eyes narrowing. "Vou are just vike me Kurt, and zee world will treat us zee same!"

He lashed his tail angrily, the hard spaded tip dragging across the concrete ground under him. Kurt wasn't aware of the prehensile limb reaching up to pluck something from Azazal's belt. "Vhen I vas voung, I was hunted down by zee churches, zee locals, my own vamily. I had to learn to keel! I had to learn to do vhat I do. And I know vhat happened in Germany. I vant you to be prepared for zat. Vare vou so foolish to zink zat anyzing different will happen here zan zere?"

Kurt flinched at that. He didn't know what he felt. He was terrified of showing what he really looked like, who he really was. But that wasn't the point right now. The point was what Azazal had nearly forced him to do.

"Today vas your fault!" Kurt growled. "Everything sat happened vas you! Not me!"

"Not entirely," the Russian mutant smirked. "I only gave vou commands. Zee execution of zee commands vas entirely up to vou. Zee only ones I told you to harm were any azority figures in see area." Kurt's eyes widened at that.

If he could have avoided hurting those people, then why did he use such lethal force on them? What Azazal said next began to drive the blue mutant over the edge.

"Vou _vanted_ to harm zem. Vou hold vourself back so much zat you almost managed to vrepress zee drive to vurt and keel that is so ingrained in vour bloodline. Vour family lives to keel. Vou are latest in a line of hunters, soldiers, even a vew terrorists like me. It is our nature."

Kurt didn't want to hear this. He didn't want to hear he was a killer by bloodline, that every time someone called him dangerous, a monster, or a demonic creature, they were right. He didn't even think to ask how Azazal knew this, his mind was in too much turmoil and still effected by the drug the red mutant had used.

"-And I only vant vou to be-" Azazal was cut off as Kurt charged forwards, tackling his elder. The syringe was dropped from his head and clattered to the ground, slightly damaged but still whole.

Both disappeared when Kurt teleported. They re-emerged ten feet behind them, five feet away from the edge of the hotel. They plummeted rapidly approaching the ground. Kurt had his claws in Azazal's shoulders, and he growled, fangs showing through the hologram.

Just before they hit the ground, there was a loud **_BAMF-SKREE _**as Azazal transported them inside the hotel. Now Kurt was under him, and he landed roughly on the carpet in the hotel.

People scattered around them, screaming about a mutant attack. Azazal growled,reaching behind him and taking out one of his jagged grey swords. "Seems vlike vou need to be shown vho ees dominant here!" He growled, raising the blade.

Kurt ported out from under him, right up to re-appear above the red mutant. He stomped on Azazal's head, sending his face straight into the floor. "Vou vill pay!"

The lobby was filled with sulfuric smoke as they teleported rapidly, striking each other between teleports. They used their power to avoid hits, try to get the drop on the other, or confuse the opponent. People ewe hiding around them, behind furniture barriers or the sign-in counter.

Kurt landed on the floor from a blow to the chest. Azazal appeared in front of him, swinging his sword. Kurt ducked, and jumped forwards. As he went under his opponent, he grabbed Azazal's tail and 'ported again.

A puff of smoke hailed their arrival beside a wall, and Kurt swung him into it. As Azazal fell to the ground, his sword clattered to the ground. Kurt made a dive for it, and caught it before the red furred mutant count reclaim it.

"Going for zee blade?" Azazal grinned. "I zought vou didn't keel?"

"I don't need to keel vou!" Kurt said. "I just need to vound vou!" Kurt leapt at the other mutant slashing, but Azazal revealed his other blade.

The vibranium swords clashed, sending a wind chime-like sound crash ringing through the room. Kurt staggered backwards, unused to the recoil of a sword clashing against a sword. It had been a long time since he had a competent sparring partner. Kitty was sweet enough to try, but she was far from proficient with a sword at the moment (though he had offered her lessons). Sparring with Logan wasn't exactly the same.

He got the hang of it, though, and he and Azazal were trading hits rapidly, both putting large cuts in each other. The hologram that covered up Kurt's appearance flickered around the wounds, though.

Kurt flipped away and landed on the wall, using his powers to stay there. The door opened behind him, revealing the rest of the X-Men. Scott stumbled backwards as Azazal nearly took his head off.

"Kurt?!" He cried out as the duel returned to the middle of the room.

Kurt punched Azazal away, and the red mutant disappeared with a loud **_BAMF-SKRE_**E. "Stay back!" Kurt yelled at his team mates. "He's dangerous. He's-" before he could say anything else, Azazal appeared in front of him and rammed his elbow into Kurt's gut, winding the disguised young mutant and sending him to his knees.

The blue mutant saw double. Azazal might have broken something with that blow. Plus, he was all out of teleports. He doubted he could manage one more. "Now vhow can I turn down zis opportunity?" Azazal grinned, and his tail wrapped around Kurt's wrist.

"Kurt!" Kitty cried, and ran forward. Azazel stalked behind the defeated teleporter, and held his sword to Kurt's throat.

"Uh uh uh, leetle one." He chided. "I advise vou to keep vour deestance." He grinned, showing fangs identical to his prisoner's. Kitty was silent, but took a hesitant step back.

"You better let him go, you fuzzy creep," Scott said, his sunglasses glowing. Behind him the other X-Men readied their powers. Even deployed his spikes, Bobby turned into ice, Roberto burst into flames. The X-Men stood ready to defend their comrade.

The mood was tense, the X-Men facing down Azazal. The Russian mutant was hilariously outnumbered, but he had one of their own. They wouldn't take action when a man who commits murder so casually has a very sharp indestructible sword pressed against Kurt / throat. "Vou do not know your friend here veery well," Azazal said slyly. "Kurt ees the vone vho attacked zee Vhite House. He shot vour mentors, and zen he lied to vour faces about eet!"

"What are you talking about!" Kitty asked. "Kurt's like, the niece person we know. He nastiest thing he's ever done is, like, pranks or something!" She scowled at the mutant holding Kurt hostage. How dare he even assume Kurt would do something like that?!

"Ha!" Azazel laughed. "Zis voung mutant ees a liar and a keeler by nature. He had deceived vou from zee moment he arrived in zis country. This isn't even his real face!"

Kurt's stomach dropped. This was what he had been dreading. His eyes flicked from his captor to the faces of his friends. "Please," he whispered to Azazal. "Don't."

The red mutant almost looked regretful. "Zis must be done." He muttered quietly so the X-Men couldn't hear him.

"What kind of nonsense are you talking about, rat face?!" Evan yelled.

"I guess vou voun't take my word for eet. Very well," Azazal said. Kurt felt the red tail entrapping his wrist start to squeez. Right over his image inducer.

"No!" Kurt yelled. "Please, don't do it-" he was cut off as the blade pressed righter to his throat. Azazal's other hand snaked around to cut off the younger teleporter's air. Kurt began choking as the pressure on his wrist increased, the device whining and sparking. Kurt's hologram began to fiz and become digitized, looking like an image on a glitchy computer screen.

"Kurt!" Kitty yelled, but Scott held her back. Finally, Azazal's tail crushed the device that had kept the blue mutant safe and hidden. With a final pop, the image inducer ceased to function slowly, the hologram dissappeared, starting from the top of his head and going down, revealing his misshapen hands, his animalistic feet, his glowing gold eyes, his blue pelt. Kurt's tail snaked from his pant leg, the spade tip dragging aprehensivly on the ground as his friends looked at him with wide eyes.

"Elf..." Even said quietly in shock. He remembered the image on the news report from the White House attack. While it could have been either of the two teleporters, Kurt had been freaking out at the time. Maybe it was because he had nearly been found out.

"Kurt Wagner is a liar, and a keeler. Vou see zat now," Azazal said with finallity as he threw the newly uncovered mutant to the ground. The pieces of the inducer laid on the ground, shattered. He whipped his tail, scattering them all over the floor. "Secrets have a price, Kurt," he told the young man. "But how high ees zis vone's?"

He disappeared with a resounding **_BAMF-SKREE,_** and Kurt was left alone in the middle of the room, exposed for what he was. He swallowed and looked around at the shocked and scared faces, the looks of disbelief on his friends' faces.

Kitty was utterly dumbfounded. Her eyes were wider than he had ever seen them, and she seemed almost as surprised as scared as she had when she first arrives at the Institute. Kurt felt like he was being stabbed when he saw that.

He felt a weight in his hand and looked down. He was still holding the blade he stole from Azazal, and the mutant's scarlet blood dripped off of it. On the ground beside him was the policeman's sidearm that he had stolen, and the knife he had used at the White House. Azazel must have left them there to emphasize his point. That Kurt was guilty.

Now his secrets were out.


End file.
